Current River Report

[ozark trout fisher]

Well, amid all the uncertainty of the government shutting down, closures, etc, I drove down to the Current on Friday not knowing what to expect. I didn't know if the government was going to be shut down or what, or if I'd find myself getting kicked off the river at some point. But I figured I'd go down there and fish until I was told I couldn't... I drove into my regular campsite along the banks of the lower reaches of the Blue Ribbon area about a half-hour after sunset on Friday night and set up camp. Even though it was pretty dark, I could see that the river was flowing normal (maybe even a little low for this time of year) and clear.

When I woke up the next morning at about 5:30, it was stormy, rainy, and generally nasty. But as soon as dawn came the clouds departed and the sun came out. By just a few minutes after dawn, I was on the river with an egg pattern tied on, working my way down river from camp. The river was some kind of beautiful in the early morning light, with the red-buds and dogwoods blooming on the mountainsides and the flowers in full bloom on the river valley.

In the riffle just below camp I almost immediately got my first hook-up, a mid-sized rainbow that got off pretty quick. The next fish was a very nice brown. I fought him for quite awhile before he got into a root-wad and broke me off. Just 15 or 20 minutes in, and 0 for 2, including one really nice fish lost...Maybe this was going to be a long day.

I worked my way down the long, slow hole below the riffle. The pool averages about 3.5-4 feet deep, and is very slow moving and glassy. This particular pool looks a lot like the over-sized spring creek that the upper Current actually is. Soon I hooked up again, another good sized brown, but not as large as the one I'd just lost. I fought this one for about ten minutes, and he came near to breaking me off a couple times in a root-wad just like the other one. But this fish was brought to hand, a beauty of a brown trout in the 15 inch range and a very nice first fish for the trip.

I had spooked the pool fighting the browny (I had 6X tippet, and you have to follow a fish around if it's of any size) so I worked my way down to the next deep pool, this one deeper, narrow, and faster moving. It looked about as fishy as can be. But I wasn't a able to get so much as a nibble there, so I worked my way down to the next riffle right at the mouth of one of the upper Current's largest feeder creeks (if you know the Current well this will give away where I was fishing...it's not really a big secret anyway.) Where a fallen tree created a cushion in the fast current, I caught a nice rainbow, about 14". Then I moved down to the next pool, which is even deeper and more beautiful than the one above. Probably the best looking pool I have ever seen on a trout stream anywhere-it just screamed ten pound brown trout. But I do not really have the skill level or the patience truth be told to go after the hogs, so after a few drifts with my egg pattern I moved on down to the next riffle, where I really got into the rainbows again. It went on that way until about 10:30, when it got deadly hot. It was too hot for fisherman and fish, and went back in the woods behind camp, ate lunch, read, and generally chilled out until about 5 P.M. In the evening, the fishing started off very slow (read non-existent) but the last hour before dark was great, with quite a few rainbows caught and many more lost. It was what you would expect to see on a July day, not in April. I fished again this morning from sunrise to 10 A.M., and I did fairly well with the rainbows again, including one clearly wild 7" rainbow. I was an awesome trip all said.

Fly-wise... I didn't experiment on this trip. I never tied on anything but Beadhead egg patterns. Peach, Tri-color, and Orange all worked equally well. Pictures are coming on my blog by this evening.

[troutfiend1985]

Nice Post. Gives me something to think about until finals are over. I've been wanting to get down to the current for a few years now, whats it like in the summer? Is it a crowded mess?

[laker67]

This is what I like to hear OTF. A nice relaxing day on the creek with fish brought to hand. Glad you had a good trip. Those browns are cover orientated for sure. That's where they hide, and that's where they go when they are threatened or hooked. I bet you are already planning your next trip.

[ozark trout fisher]

This is what I like to hear OTF. A nice relaxing day on the creek with fish brought to hand. Glad you had a good trip. Those browns are cover orientated for sure. That's where they hide, and that's where they go when they are threatened or hooked. I bet you are already planning your next trip.

Yeah, they sure are cover oriented. I honestly don't have that much experience fighting larger trout on a fly rod, but even though I didn't land the bigger fish I still feel like I learned something. I guess maybe that will come in time.

Troutfiend, the Current is kind of a mess in the summer, but there are ways to get around it and still have some good fishing. Not many people put in upstream of Baptist Camp, so you won't deal with many canoes up there, although there will be plenty of wade fisherman. But if you are willing to fish early morning, or late evening, when the fishing is best anyway during the summer, you can fish anywhere you like without canoes bothering you much. Honestly, during mid-day in summer (when the canoes are thick) the fishing will be pretty slow anyway even without canoes, so it kind of works out. A typical mid-summer day on the Current for me involves getting up really early in the morning to fish, staying out until about 9:30, then going swimming, sightseeing, or otherwise killing time until about 6:30. Then I get back on the water and fish hard until after dark.

Also if you can go on a weekday that will help tremendously.

[Nortrad]

Excellent report. There's nothing like waking up next to the river and knowing you'll be wading in to find a fish.

[Gavin]

Nice report....add some caddis dries & pupa to your kit this time of year......some big( #12) Lt. Cahills may pop if you stay late enough...never seems to last more than 3-4 evenings...

[Randall]

Troutfiend, the Current is kind of a mess in the summer, but there are ways to get around it and still have some good fishing. Not many people put in upstream of Baptist Camp, so you won't deal with many canoes up there, although there will be plenty of wade fisherman. But if you are willing to fish early morning, or late evening, when the fishing is best anyway during the summer, you can fish anywhere you like without canoes bothering you much. Honestly, during mid-day in summer (when the canoes are thick) the fishing will be pretty slow anyway even without canoes, so it kind of works out. A typical mid-summer day on the Current for me involves getting up really early in the morning to fish, staying out until about 9:30, then going swimming, sightseeing, or otherwise killing time until about 6:30. Then I get back on the water and fish hard until after dark.

Also if you can go on a weekday that will help tremendously.

Agreed, and don't forget about the trico hatches either. You can get into some decent fish on top but you gotta get there early.

[stlfisher]

Sounds like a great trip and a great weekend. Congrats!

[OKFlyFisher44]

Awesome report. We r heading down to the Current this weekend for our annual spring trip to try and hit the caddis hatch. Did u see any caddis coming off anywhere?I can't wait to get down there! I miss that river terribly...

[Nortrad]

Chance, you boys don't get carried away Sat. night. I'll be over to Tan Vat Sunday morning, maybe the Jedi will go along too. We'll be there probably after you guys, if you start early. Going to be chilly Sat. night. You guys will have 'antifreeze' going though...;)Should pull in TV around 6:30 or so. Lucky OK boys...